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Kamaru Usman Wants Conor McGregor or Jorge Masvidal UFC Fight in July
May 26, 2020
UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman wants to meet Conor McGregor or Jorge Masvidal in the Octagon in July, per ESPN's Brett Okamoto.
"This is what I have to say: Both [McGregor and Masvidal]. Both guys are champions of Twitter, talking s--t on Twitter," Usman said. "In the history [of MMA], who has ever said no to a title shot? I'm that guy. I'm the boogeyman who these guys are saying no to a title shot against. And they better remain quiet.
"Jorge Masvidal, you had an opportunity on April 18, May 9, June and now July. You want to fight Nate—a fight that wasn't even competitive. And Conor, you said you wanted to be the king of the 170-pound division. Now you're quiet. So you know what? Just remain quiet. I've given both of you a shot and none of you have taken it."
Usman is 15-1 as a professional and 9-0 in the UFC. He beat Tyron Woodley for the welterweight title in March 2019 and defeated challenger Colby Covington in a successful title defense by TKO last December.
Per Masvidal's manager, Abraham Kawa, his client already has his next fight ready. He spoke with MMA Junkie Radio on the matter:
"He definitely wants to fight somebody. That person, we're all going to find out shortly. I don't want to give too much away, but I will say Jorge has been a man of his word since I've known him; he's never lied or said something, then something else happened. He's not that kind of guy. When he says, 'This is what I want, this is what I want to do,' that's what happens. He gave somebody his word, so we'll see. I can't say too much now, but it's going to be fun."
"Jorge's in camp, he's training, he's ready to rock and roll, so we're looking forward to fight. Whether it's in July or a little bit later, that'll be fine, too, but he's absolutely ready to rock and roll."
That may not be against Usman, with UFC President Dana White telling Okamoto (h/t MMA Junkie Radio): "We're talking about a few different things. We have something else interesting for Masvidal, too, that we were just talking about [Thursday]. We'll see."
Masvidal appears willing to have a rematch with Nate Diaz, tweeting "lets run it back" on Saturday in reference to a rematch following their first fight, which resulted in a Masvidal win following a doctor stoppage.
As for McGregor, he seems intent on a fight with Justin Gaethje based on a Twitter rant following Gaethje's TKO win over Tony Ferguson at UFC 249.
"The fans make the sport!" McGregor wrote on Twitter.
"Watching the other night, I was against going in without them. But it will be my f--king pleasure to display the power I possess with zero background noise for them. It's me and Justin next as khabib is the biggest bottle fighter in the game. Guarantee it."
Usman ranks sixth on the UFC's pound-for-pound rankings. Masvidal is the highest-ranked welterweight on the UFC rankings who has not lost to Usman, as Woodley and Covington sit between him and the champ.
McGregor, a former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion, is fourth on the lightweight rankings after defeating Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone in January following UFC 246 following a 15-month absence from the Octagon.